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College Football: Ranking 10 best head coaches from past 5 seasons

By Ryan Kay

Nick Saban, Alabama Crimson Tide, Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma Sooners, Dabo Swinney, Clemson Tigers, Brian Kelly, Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
Nick Saban, Alabama Crimson Tide, Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma Sooners, Dabo Swinney, Clemson Tigers, Brian Kelly, Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 01: Head coach Mario Cristobal of the Oregon Ducks gets a Gatorade shower at the end of the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Rose Bowl on January 01, 2020 in Pasadena, California. The Oregon Ducks topped the Wisconsin Badgers, 28-27. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 01: Head coach Mario Cristobal of the Oregon Ducks gets a Gatorade shower at the end of the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Rose Bowl on January 01, 2020 in Pasadena, California. The Oregon Ducks topped the Wisconsin Badgers, 28-27. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images) /

Honorable Mention

Some coaches qualified but did not make our top 10 list due to the fact that they couldn’t get into the 100-point threshold for total coaching points.

Most of the below-mentioned coaches did not make the top 10 ranking due to lack of a conference championship or the fact that they have not coached during all five seasons to build up enough of a large point total based on the point system to rank the top coaches of the past five years that meet the criteria laid out earlier in the article.

However, the coaches below deserve some recognition and here is the point breakdown of each of them.

Gus Malzahn (Auburn)

  • 0 National Championships: 0 points
  • 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
  • 0 regular-season conference titles: 0 points
  • 1 division title: 20 points
  • 2 bowl wins: 20 points
  • 5 bowl appearances: 25 points
  • 1 season with 10 or more wins: 5 points

Total coaching points: 70

Coaching highlight of the past five seasons: In 2017, he and his Auburn Tigers were the SEC West division co-champs as they defeated Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M that season.

Pat Fitzgerald (Northwestern)

  • 0 National Championships: 0 points
  • 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
  • 0 regular-season conference titles: 0 points
  • 1 division title: 20 points
  • 3 bowl wins: 30 points
  • 4 bowl appearances: 20 points
  • 2 seasons with 10 or more wins: 10 points

Total coaching points: 80

Coaching highlight of the past five seasons: In 2018, he and his Northwestern Wildcats won the Big Ten West and were Holiday Bowl champions.

Kirk Ferentz (Iowa)

  • 0 National Championships: 0 points
  • 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
  • 0 regular-season conference titles: 0 points
  • 1 division title: 20 points
  • 3 bowl wins: 30 points
  • 5 bowl appearances: 25 points
  • 2 seasons with or more wins: 10 points

Total coaching points: 85

Coaching highlight of the past five seasons: In 2015, he and his Iowa Hawkeyes won the Big Ten West and were victorious in all 12 of their regular season games.

Jim McElwain (Florida, Central Michigan)

  • 0 National Championships: 0 points
  • 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
  • 0 regular-season conference titles: 0 points
  • 3 division titles: 60 points
  • 1 bowl win: 10 points
  • 3 bowl appearances: 15 points
  • 1 season with 10 or more wins: 5 points

Total coaching points: 90

Coaching highlight of the past five seasons: In 2016, he and his Florida Gators had won their second consecutive SEC East title and were Outback Bowl champs.

Mario Cristobal (Oregon)

  • 0 National Championships: 0 points
  • 0 College Football Playoff appearances: 0 points
  • 1 regular-season conference title: 30 points
  • 1 division title: 20 points
  • 2 bowl wins: 20 points
  • 3 bowl appearances: 15 points
  • 1 season with 10 or more wins: 5 points

Total coaching points: 90

Coaching highlight of the past five seasons: In 2019, he and his Oregon Ducks were Pac-12 North champions, won the Pac-12 title and were Rose Bowl champs.

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